Lyn suggested this: Our next Monetary System and the End of Freedom B.D.W. sent this from Seeking Alpha: Inflation Indexed Bonds and Annuities Versus Gold, Silver and Platinum Items from The Economatrix: The Fifth Option: Is This How Governments Will Fix Their Debt Problems? Greenspan: Fed’s Massive Stimulus Had Little Impact Stores Find Success By Focusing On The Hunt Companies Ordered More Factory Goods in May
A New Investment Strategy: Preparing for End Times Huge rare earth deposits found in Pacific: Japan experts. (A tip of the hat to to Mary M. for the link.) John R. recommended a piece over at The Daily Bell: Where Will You Go When the Sovereign Debt Volcano Blows? JBG sent this: Rating Agency Issues Greek Rescue Plan Warning Items from The Economatrix: Ron Paul: US Should Declare Bankruptcy On-line Retailers Strike Back at Internet Tax Levy S&P to Deeply Cut U.S. Ratings if Debt Payment Missed Gas is 24 Cents Cheaper Than Labor Day The “Economic Recovery” Turns 2. …
Reader Burt J. sent a link to a list on the CIA web site, showing positive and negative foreign trade balances. Look who is at the very bottom of the list with the largest trade deficit, by a wide margin. This can’t go on much longer without a currency collapse. Notutopia flagged an article that demonizes perfectly legal incorporation: Special Report: A little house of secrets on the Great Plains. (To some statists, financial privacy and economic freedom are foreign concepts.) Yishai was the first of several readers to send this: Inside the Fed’s Vault: $1 Billion Worth of Unused …
News from Oz: RBA board member warns of Europe meltdown. (Thanks from Tom in Buffalo for the link.) C.D.V. sent the latest news of fiscal suicide: Despite Deadline Uncertainty, U.S. Faces Bad Choices if Debt Limit Not Raised. Morici argues there is one way for the government to keep paying its bills for a year or longer: “The Treasury can print money and the Federal Reserve can buy back that cash when it goes into circulation with its portfolio of bonds, and keep going quite a bit that way.” Items from The Economatrix: Greece Passes Steep Cuts as Riots Seize …
James: I missed this news story when it came out last fall: Germany finished paying off its WWI war reparations on October 3, 2010. That was 92 years after the Treaty of Versailles set the amount at 83% of Germany’s GDP. Funding these payments was largely responsible for the economic collapse of the Weimar Republic (with its hyperinflation). What will it take to pay back the debt we’ve imposed on ourselves? Depending on how you count it, the current government debt is between 14.2 Trillion (Treasury number) and 62 Trillion (when you include liabilities for Fannie/Freddie and current-value obligations for …
Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large) recommend this: The number that’s killing the economy Stephen M. highlighted this one: General Mills sees 2012 profit hit by food costs. Here is a quote: “The maker of Cheerios cereal and Progresso soups said on Wednesday that it expects costs to rise 10 percent to 11 percent in the 2012 fiscal year, which began May 30.” Also from Stephen: Austerity Riots – A Glimpse of America’s Future? Items from The Economatrix: Voters Give Obama Lowest Rating Yet on Economy Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Fall By Most in 17 Months Uptick …
Steven M. suggested: Three financial funnel clouds ahead Commentary: Fighting ‘F5’ financial disasters with ETFs United States of Denial (James West) John R. suggested a piece by Arnold Bock: Get Ready to be Financially Conscripted Katie Benner: China’s Debt Bomb From The Daily Bell: Greece: Frazzled Eurocrats Play for Time Items from The Economatrix: The Five Biggest Threats to US Economy Celente Predicts Gold Standard Won’t Save US Economy Consumers’ Confidence Down in June on Job Worries
This report lays out an investment thesis for gold and one for silver. Various factors lead me to conclude that gold is one investment that you can park for the next ten or twenty years, confident that it will perform well. My timing and logic for both entering and finally exiting gold (and silver) as investments are laid out in the full report. The punch line is this: Gold and silver are not (yet) in bubble territory, and large gains remain, especially if monetary, fiscal, and fundamental supply-and-demand trends remain in play. Introduction In 2001, as the painful end of …
F.J. suggested the tax infornmation from Kiplinger’s, for helping to select reterat locales: Retiree Tax Heavens (and Hells) Reuter’s reports: S&P to deeply cut U.S. ratings if debt payment missed Kostas sent this: Greece faces general strike, more cuts planned. This article includes a quote from deputy prime minister, Theodoros Pangalos: “A return to the drachma would mean that the next day banks would be surrounded by people trying to get their money out. The army would have to use tanks to protect [the banks] because there wouldn’t be enough police to do it.” Alexander in Germany flagged this one …
Does this sound familiar? Tony B. sent us some news from Australia: Royal Mint wants 5¢ coins scrapped. Yes, when inflation embarrassingly gives coins a base metal value that exceeds their face value, governments make they conveniently declare them a “nuisance” or “too expensive”. You can either look at it as a function of “rising commodities prices” as the media suggests, or more accurately as a declining Oz Dollar. G.G. spotted this over at Total Investor: Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Prepper Dad? Even Robert Kiyosaki Is Warning That An Economic Collapse Is Coming Martin Weiss warns of derivatives doom: Government …
John E. flagged this bit of statist arrogance: US Treasury Secretary Tim Geitner – “Taxes on ‘Small Business’ Must Rise So Government Doesn’t Shrink” John R. kindly sent us a whole raft of economic news items and some excellent commentary: Derivatives Cloud the Possible Fallout From a Greek Default Inevitable Catastrophe: The Fruits of Moral Hazard on a Global Scale (Charles Hugh Smith) Chance Didn’t Create the Current Economic Crisis (Bob Chapman) Bernanke Lies Half Life Reduced To Under One Day As Aflac Scrambling To Shore Up Liquidity On European Exposure Mike Whitney: QE 3? — The Perils of Inflation …
D.S. spotted this: Greeks Turn Savings to Gold and Perth Mint Silver Coin Sales Surge to Record on Haven Demand Cody J. sent us this: Default America: Influence & Impasse Flat line: Fed Leaves Rates Unchanged, Offers Dim View of Economy (Thanks to Steven M. for the link.) Also from Steven M.: Moody’s: Commercial Real Estate Prices declined 3.7% in April, Prices at new Post-Bubble Low. (Thanks to Steven M. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: The Bitter Medicine for the United States Jim Rogers: Obama Should Resign Before Inflation Sparks Unrest Gerald Celente: Everything is Not All Right, …
From The Daily Bell: Greece – Salvation by Politicians Ron Paul: The Worst Thing You Can Do For A People Is Purposely Devalue The Dollar Greenspan: Greek Default Will Trigger Another U.S. Recession Items from The Economatrix: The Latest FDIC Friday Follies: Regulators Shut Down Small Banks in Georgia, Florida; Makes 47 Bank Failures This Year Fed Dims Outlook for Jobs and Growth for 2011 Oil Dives to Four-Month Loss as Emergency Stocks Unleashed Fed Acknowledges Economy is Growing More Slowly The End of the Trend is Near Layoffs, Housing Data Point to Chronic Problems
Pimco Predicts Greece Will Default. JWR’s Comment: Prepare for a further succession of dominos to topple. Spain and Portugal will probably be next. And I regret to say that the domino at the end of the queue is at: 38°53’23.28″N, 77° 0’31.01″W Jason Hommel: Silver: From $30/oz to over $500 by 2020 (And from $500 to $5000 by 2030!) Democrats push for jobs package in debt deal. JWR’s Comment: More “stimulus”? They must be insane. Someday, they’ll finally admit that we are a bankrupt nation living on borrowed time. The U.S. Postal Service, facing insolvency without approval to delay a $5.5 …
This McAlvany podcast interview is a must: Bill King Interview: Europe is the Detonator – The U.S. is the Bomb. King points to the collapse of socialism in western countries as the core of the collapse that started in 2009, and derivatives as the biggest risk. Reader Stephen M. mentioned that The Economic Collapse blog posted a good summary of the US national debt situation. Here is a key quote: “If we do raise the debt ceiling, that will ‘kick the can down the road’ a little bit farther. However, world financial markets will still crash eventually and our eventual …